The Blueprint for Your 2016 Mobile Strategy

The Blueprint for Your 2016 Mobile Strategy

Planning on how to take your mobile enterprise to the next level in 2016 can be a challenge, so we put together this blueprint to help you formulate a plan that will achieve stellar results. The rate of change in the mobile enterprise has been significant and 2016 will be no different in terms of the shifting mobile landscape.

Security is the Foundation of a Successful Mobile Strategy in 2016

With the advancements in malware, and in particular polymorphic techniques, mobile devices are more vulnerable than ever. Polymorphic techniques are designed into the malware to dynamically change the signature of the malware as well as obfuscate the malicious code in order to avoid detection. Enterprises that have a loosely defined bring-your-own-device (BYOD) program tend to be the most vulnerable. Once an endpoint is compromised, the malware typically spreads quickly until it is found and contained. In addition, 2016 rapidly taking on the heinous moniker of the year of ransomware and mobile devices are certainly not immune to this particularly harmful malware variant. For Android devices a new form of ransom locker has evolved and if a mobile device management solution is not deployed on the device with root privileges then it is very difficult to regain access without a factory reset.

What was Old is New: Make the Move to Corporate Liable

In order to reduce your mobile threat profile and the odds of being impacted by the new breed of mobile malware, it is time to really think hard about your BYOD program. Many enterprises have realized the productivity gains and increase in employee satisfaction by deploying high-end iOS and Android smartphones. Therefore, is the benefit of BYOD combined with the risk associated with potentially vulnerable devices worth maintaining? Or, is now the time to equip employees with the devices that they desire through a corporate liable program and deploy the appropriate controls in order to reduce the risk? Many enterprises are starting to increase the criteria for BYOD approval and reduce the number of BYOD devices in their environment due to the increased risk and the security benefits of deploying corporate owned devices. In 2016 we anticipate continued momentum with this trend due to the security benefits.

Conduct an MDM Audit

If you do not have complete visibility and control of the corporate liable and BYOD assets distributed across your mobile connected workforce, then it is imperative that you conduct a mobile audit and quickly identify vulnerable endpoints and lock them down. It is also important to make sure that mobile device management (MDM) solution(s) is up to date. As employees change jobs and gain or relinquish access to critical business data then it is likely that your MDM solution should change as well. Aligning your MDM solutions to the role of the employee and cost per seat of the solution is a best practice for creating efficiencies and delivering the appropriate level of device security. However, with this approach it requires that employee access level moves, adds and changes are also reflected within your MDM environment.

Moving Beyond Email and Browsing

Few enterprises have realized the full potential of their mobile device deployments. Many employees either fail to devote time to learning new apps and device features or they are intimidated and concerned that they will somehow break the device. In addition, the vast majority of employees equipped with smartphones and tablets utilize less than 4 apps on a regular basis. The most commonly used apps are email, browsers, social media apps and maps.

Peer Based Training Results in Big Gains

2016 should be the year that you take your mobile enterprise to the next level. In order to achieve the true promise of significant productivity gains it is important to establish mobile proficiency benchmarks and understand which employees need additional training and assistance utilizing apps. One effective method is to utilize the most productive employees in each department and/or roll as a training resource during departmental sessions. The context of the training from peers is often much more impactful and helps elevate the entire team.

In addition, once you have identified employees that need additional training and help, it is important to make sure your support desk is equipped to proactively work with these employees until they achieve target proficiency levels.

Audit Your Mobile Enterprise Service Spend and Optimize

Are you getting the best value for the wireless services that you procure from wireless carriers? The dynamic landscape of rate plans and enterprise offerings means that once the ink has dried on your carrier agreements and plans, it is time to review it again. Aligning your employees usage with the most efficient plans pays big dividends. Most enterprises can save 20% to 30% off their direct wireless costs by optimizing rate plans based on the exact usage of the employees.

Several factors impact usage; including the screen size of the device. Employees with screen sizes of 5 inches or more consume over 20% more data services. Therefore, it is important to make sure that your plans and usage are in alignment in order to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your mobile enterprise. Because usage and rate plans are dynamic it is important that the relationship between the two are managed on an ongoing basis.

Harvest End-Of-Life Devices

Most enterprises that we visit have a closet, cube or multiple cubes full of old mobile devices. It is a really bad idea to simply keep these devices hanging around. Here are the issues with end-of-life devices:

We frequently identify end-of-life devices that are still attached to active rate plans but have zero usage. Therefore, end-of-life devices are often a source of unnecessary wireless service expenses. It is common for 3% to 7% of an enterprises mobile devices to have zero usage and most of those being end-of-life devices.

In addition to being active on carrier networks, a high percentage of end-of-life devices have corporate data stored on the device. These devices can easily walk out the door and be the source of a data breach. Therefore, it is in your best interest to make sure that you harvest all end-of-life devices and utilize appropriate procedures to wipe the storage.

Lastly, end-of-life devices are assets that can dramatically reduce the cost of your mobile device deployments. The latest generation of iPhones can retain up to 50% of their value which can be recovered and utilized for new device deployments.

OVATION Wireless Management is trusted by enterprises to manage their end-of-life devices, wipe the storage and provide buy-back that makes it easy to recoup the value of your end-of-life devices.

The Time Has Come for IoT

If you have not ventured into the Internet of Things (IoT) yet, then 2016 is the year to setup a test lab and start identifying opportunities to make big gains with this technology. From industrial control systems and wearables to connected cars, IoT holds the promise of the next great productivity gains for the enterprise. Monitoring the status of assets in real time can help quickly identify issues that are likely to disrupt their productivity and therefore you can take proactive steps to eliminate issues before they negatively impact performance. There are almost limitless emerging use cases for enterprise gains.

About OVATION Wireless Management

OVATION Wireless Management provides result-driven managed mobility services, to domestic and global enterprises, that are guaranteed to pay for themselves. With over 300 years of combined wireless experience, OVATION delivers a demonstrable value proposition and expert customer service. For more information, visit www.ovationwireless.com or call 1-866-207-2111.